


The Magicians

by hearth_goddess



Series: 1998/2019 Switch [1]
Category: Cats (2019), Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber
Genre: 1998 Misto switches with 2019 Misto, 1998 Misto x 1998 Tugger, 1998 Tugger just wants to give 2019 Misto a hug, 2019 Tugger thinks 1998 Misto is the best thing in the world, Everybody's Confused, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Relationships are all background, both Tuggers are hyping their new Mistos up, no betas we die like grizabella going to the heaviside layer, platonic 2019 Mistoria
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:35:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28190073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hearth_goddess/pseuds/hearth_goddess
Summary: While watching Mr. Mistoffelees performing his Conjuring Turns one afternoon, the Jellicles find themselves without their vague and aloof conjuring cat when he disappears, replaced by a stranger, wearing a strange jacket and a strange top hat, who looks nothing like their Mistoffelees.Meanwhile, in a run-down theater somewhere else, the Jellicles are gathered together catching up when Mr. Mistoffelees suddenly disappears from his conversation with Victoria and is replaced with a sparklier, shorter cat who knows how to shoot lightning from his fingers.
Series: 1998/2019 Switch [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2065140
Comments: 7
Kudos: 56





	The Magicians

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheDiamondSword400](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDiamondSword400/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Look What The Cat Conjured Up](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27776917) by [TheDiamondSword400](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDiamondSword400/pseuds/TheDiamondSword400). 



> To the absolutely wonderful _TheDiamondSword400_ here on Ao3 ( _@storyweaverofgondor_ on tumblr), whose own story was the reason for me finally getting the push to start this series, thank you! You're amazing, and you're one of my biggest inspirations!
> 
> *Mistoffelees refers to 1998 *Misto refers to 2019

It was a relatively normal day in the Junkyard. Kittens were running around and playing under the watchful eyes of Jennyanydots and Jellylorum, Munkustrap was finally relaxing with Demeter curled into his side, and there was no sign of any attacks from Macavity. All was well as the Rum Tum Tugger and Mr. Mistoffelees made their way towards the rest of their tribe.

“Morning, Uncle Tugs!” Jemima cried happily, bouncing away from her friends to greet her uncle, who hugged her tightly and ruffled her fur, making her giggle. 

“How’s our favorite niece?” Mistoffelees asked, getting a tight hug from the small kitten as well. 

Jemima giggled. “I’m your only niece, Uncle Misto.” 

The black cat simply tapped her nose with a wink. “All the more reason for you to be my favorite!” 

“Mr. Mistoffelees! Will you do your Turns?” Electra asked excitedly, rushing towards the trio and hanging off her best friend as Jemima gasped in delight. 

The other kittens quickly joined, looking at Mistoffelees pleadingly. “Please?” 

“Of course, kittens.” Mistoffelees laughed, and the young Jellicles cheered happily, rushing to sit in the best spots. Tugger shook his head fondly, going to sit beside his brother as Munkustrap chuckled quietly, relaxing back. Mistoffelees stood in the center of the Junkyard, and he lifted his hands. Music came from nowhere, as it normally did during the Ball, and he began to dance, doing his signature Conjuring Turns, sparkles of light flying from the tips of his fingers as he spun faster. The kittens squealed in delight as the lights flickered around the Junkyard, and the older Jellicles laughed at their excitement. Tugger propped his chin on his paw, watching his mate with adoring eyes. 

Suddenly, however, Mistoffelees disappeared in a flash of light, and Tugger leapt to his feet, fur bristling. 

“Where did he go?” Demeter asked, looking around with confusion. 

The maine coon scanned the area around them, amber eyes narrowing. “I don’t know. This isn’t part of his trick.” A crashing sound drew the attention of the Jellicles, and a cat came tumbling out from underneath a pile of junk. 

He was a very strange cat, at least to the Jellicles. Beneath the (strange) jacket he wore, he appeared to be a tuxedo tom, but he was wearing some kind of jacket, with buttons all over it that made the jacket shimmer in the mid-morning light. On his head, with special holes in each side, was a top hat. 

Tugger looked back at Munkustrap, a frantic worry appearing in his eyes. “Where is he?” 

“I’m sorry, but could you tell me where I am?” the tom asked, his voice quiet, and slightly shy. 

Munkustrap placed a paw on Tugger’s shoulder, stepping forward as the other adults ushered the kittens back. “Who are you, and where’s Mr. Mistoffelees?” 

The tom frowned, confusion in his eyes. “Why, I’m Mr. Mistoffelees!” 

* * *

The Jellicles rarely gathered together in the Egyptian, but after the latest events at the Jellicle ball, they had been meeting together more and more. It had been beneficial for all, as many of the Jellicles had forged new friendships and took to chatting together whenever they were able to. 

“How have you been getting settled in?” Munkustrap asked, settling in beside Victoria, who looked at him excitedly. 

“Oh, it’s wonderful!” the young queen exclaimed. “Cassandra’s helping me to find a new human to live with, so I won’t have to worry about being on the streets any longer! And hopefully whoever they are won’t live too far from the Egyptian, so I’ll still be able to come here and visit whenever I want to!” 

Misto smiled at her enthusiasm. “Most humans don’t give a care as to where their cats go off to. My human simply cares that I’m home at night, or that they see me during the day. As long as they know I’m not lost, that’s good enough for them.” 

Victoria looked at the magician with wide eyes. “You have a human? How do you manage living in two places?” 

“It’s nice.” Misto said. “My human’s seen most of the Jellicles before, so we use it as sort of a spot for Jellicles who’ve been injured, or who need a place to sleep if it’s too cold out.” He played with the cuffs of his jacket. “They even ma—” 

As he was speaking, Misto felt a strong tug of a different kind of magic, and briefly, he was worried that it was Macavity, up to his tricks. However, the magic felt familiar in a way that no other magic did. He recognized the magic, strangely enough, but before he could react, he disappeared from Victoria and Munkustrap’s sight. 

“Misto?” Munkustrap exclaimed, jumping to his feet. 

Victoria grabbed onto the silver tabby’s arm, looking around. “Mistoffelees?” 

“Was that a trick?” Cassandra asked, glancing away from Demeter. 

Munkustrap shook his head, and tensed when another figure appeared in the middle other the theater, stumbling out of a turn, and taking a moment to look around the theater with curiosity. 

“Well, this has never happened before.” The cat mused thoughtfully. He was a sleek tuxedo tom, nearly completely black save for a white patch of chest fur, his black fur sparkling with all sorts of colors as he walked around and looked at the theater. 

“What did you do to Mistoffelees?” Victoria asked, catching the tom’s attention. He turned around, cocking his head slightly as he studied the Jellicles. 

“I am Mistoffelees.” 

* * *

“I don’t… I don’t know exactly how I’m supposed to get back to my own home.” Misto said, wringing his paws as he paced back and forth in the Junkyard. After explaining that he was, in fact, named Mistoffelees, the Jellicles listened as Misto explained further that he strangely came from a place where quite a few things were different, and while Tugger, being the ever-curious cat he was, had many questions, couldn’t wait to hear more, he took note of the tom’s very nervous expression and moved forward, standing beside him. 

It was a tad disconcerting, standing beside Misto, and having him nearly be his same height. Tugger was so used to his own mate being shorter than him by a good few inches that it took him a moment to adjust his gaze to look Misto in the eye, 

“You’ll be getting home.” He said, and Misto was clasping his paws tightly together, absolutely nervous to his very core as he began to overthink just about everything. Tugger couldn’t help but laugh the smallest bit, and he grasped the magician’s paws tightly in his own, making Misto’s eyes widen with shock. “You, my fine magical friend, are in need of some confidence. A great deal of confidence if you’re ever going to get that magic of yours to the level you want it to be at.” 

“It’s… it’s not that strong.” Misto said, and Tugger scoffed. 

“Nonsense! You just never had the proper encouragement,” he replied with a slow grin. He squeezed Misto's paws and kept a tight grip on one, looping it through his arm. "Now, allow me to assist you!" 

* * *

The strange new Mistoffelees briefly explained himself to the Jellicles surrounding him, finding it easiest to just tell them that his magic went haywire during a trick. 

The only issue with saying that, was that the Jellicles were asking continuously when Mistoffelees was going to switch back with their Misto, and it quickly became quite apparent that Mistoffelees wasn’t entirely sure how to do said switch. 

“I’m sure Misto is fine, he can handle himself better than we think he can when he’s on his own.” Tugger said, leaning back as he observed the interactions with amusement. The other Jellicles stepped back at Tugger’s words, nodding, and Mistoffelees looked at him with a slight smile. He approached him, sitting gracefully down beside him, and giving Tugger a once-over. 

“You and the Tugger that I know are not that different, you know. Sure, he’s probably a bit less... _much_ than you, but yeah, you two are pretty similar.” 

Tugger smirked. “You’re shorter than our Misto.” Mistoffelees frowned. “Seriously. Compared to him, you’re tiny. It’s weird.” 

The magician huffed. “Being small just means I have more pent-up energy for magic and anger.” 

Tugger burst into laughter, and a grin spread over his face triumphantly. 

“I like you.” He said, making Mistoffelees snort slightly. 

“You wouldn’t like me around Halloween.” He said. “I work together with our version of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer to make our Junkyard look absolutely terrifying, and I always go out of my way to try to scare as many of the Jellicles as possible.” 

Tugger snickered, looking at Mistoffelees. “Is your magic really that powerful?” 

Mistoffelees nodded, showing the other tom his paw, and the sparkles that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and Tugger watched as Mistoffelees’ fur completely lit up, covered in what appeared to be sparkling rainbow lights. 

* * *

“Do you feel more grounded?” 

“I think so?” 

Tugger stood in a bit more of a secluded spot in the Junkyard with Misto, Coricopat and Tantomile sitting off to one side watching them. The trio was helping Misto strengthen his own magic, in hopes of him being able to return back to his own home, and become more confident in his own abilities. 

Misto breathed deeply, opening his eyes. “What exactly am I supposed to be feeling here?” 

Tugger shrugged. “Whatever you think your magic feels like. When my Mistoffelees did this, he said his magic felt like touching something sharp, at first, but then once he got control of it, it was like wrapping something in a soft blanket, and carrying it around with him all the time. “ 

“How did he get such good control of his magic?” Misto asked. 

“He lost control a few times in the Junkyard. Let a few lightning bolts go out of control.” Tugger said. “After that, he wouldn’t allow himself to use magic until I grabbed his arm and helped him learn.” Tugger smiled, a soft, fond smile. “We worked for weeks until he had almost full control of his magic. It was incredible. I was so proud of him. I still am.” 

Misto raised a skeptical eyebrow. “And you think that I can do the same? 

Tugger nodded firmly. “Absolutely! Even if you don’t completely get it down while you’re here, you can practice! That way, whenever you go home, you’re ready.” He put his paws on Misto’s shoulders, an excited grin on his face. “Now… are you ready to try again?” 

“I think so.” Misto said, taking a breath and closing his eyes, using Tugger’s paws on his shoulders to ground himself. 

* * *

“I think I’m going to try again.” Mistoffelees said, stepping forward to position himself in order to prepare for the turns. He wanted to try to see if he could get the same sort of magic happening again, if perhaps his counterpart was doing something different, then that perhaps would influence how strongly he would be able to get his own magic going. 

Tugger stood to the side, bouncing with excitement. “Good luck!” 

Mistoffelees threw him a wink and prepared himself by taking a deep breath before going straight into the turns. The turns slowly began to become faster and faster, and Mistoffelees reached deep, deep down within him to reach for his magic, and he pulled it to the forefront, bringing as much power into his turns as he possibly could. 

Meanwhile, Misto was standing in the middle of the Junkyard, reaching down within him, to search for his own inner magic. Suddenly, he managed to grab onto it, and he felt it for a brief moment, something warm and wonderful that felt as if he was being huffed for the first time. 

He was able to look towards Tugger with a happy smile and mouth “Thank you” to the maine coon before he disappeared once more, replaced by the magician known and loved by the Jellicles of the Junkyard. 

“That was, without a doubt, the strangest thing that has ever happened to me.” Mistoffelees remarked, glancing around. 

“Sparkles!” Tugger exclaimed happily, rushing to his mate’s side and hugging him close, nuzzling into his ear (properly, because he could, since Mistoffelees was a proper size and not weirdly tall like Misto was). 

Mistoffelees smiled, and leaned into the hug. “Hello, Tugs.” 

* * *

Misto still had the bright smile on his face when he reappeared in the Egyptian, still briefly feeling the tingly feeling he got by being able to be so in tune with his magic. He had never felt so magically alive, and it was all thanks to specifically Tugger. 

Speaking of, as soon as he appeared on the Egyptian, he was all but swarmed by Jellicles, questions being fired away at him, causing him to stumble back slightly. He was caught by Tugger, who gave him a slight smirk that disguised the brief concern in his eyes. 

“Are you alright, Buttons?” he asked, righting Misto on his feet. 

Misto nodded, still smiling. “I’m… I’m okay. Just a bit disoriented is all.” 

It was a strange feeling… as if he were buzzing. ‘Whether or not it would go away remained to be seen, but Misto was glad he did it, and he was happy that he was able to meet other counterparts of his own self and explanations for their own stories. 

Misto and Mistoffelees both wondered if something like that would ever happen again to their respective tribes.

**Author's Note:**

> Anything about the 1998/2019 switch can be found on my tumblr ( _@uppastthejelliclemoon_ ), under the tag **1998/2019 switch** , if you're curious!


End file.
